Think $3 a gallon is bad? $3.50 is coming soon, say 72 percent of Americans
The little post I put up last night forecasted gas prices hitting maybe around $3.10 (on average) in the United States this summer. The pro-fuel efficiency group 40mpg.org says that most Americans (72 percent) believe prices will climb even higher in the next few months. According to a study 40mpg released yesterday, those 72 percent think prices will get to $3.50 this summer, and 28 percent think it'll reach $4 a gallon. What's the reason for the increase? People think (well, 82 percent of survey respondents anyway) that there's a lot of price gouging going on (I wonder why).
You can read the details after the break, but worries about high gas prices mean people are expecting they'll cut back on spending or summer travel plans. 29 percent say they will be more likely to buy a hybrid or fuel-efficient vehicle if we get to $3.50 gas (The survey takers interviewed over 1,000 adults over 18 in the continental US between April 19 and 22, MOE is 3 percentage points. It was sponsored by 40mpg, the Civil Society Institute, and Hybrid Owners of America).
Obviously, these are just people's opinions, and none of this means that gas prices are actually going to climb another 50 cents or more (or that price gouging is the reason prices are climbing). They might, though, and it seems people are resigned to that happening. So if the price gougers are reading, your victims are ready.
[Source: Civil Society Institute and 40MPG.org, Newton, MA]
CSI/40MPG.org Survey: $3.50 Gas Expected This Summer by About 3 Out of 4 Americans, Half Will Cut Travel and Spending In Response
Mounting Frustration Evident: 83% See Price Gouging, 77% Say Not Enough Federal Action, 67% Want Higher MPG Standard Now, 77% Back Oil Windfall Profits Tax.
WASHINGTON, May 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Nearly three out of four Americans (72 percent) expect gasoline prices to reach $3.50 a gallon this summer and just over one in four (28 percent) foresee prices at $4 a gallon in the next few months, according to a major new Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) survey conducted for the nonprofit Civil Society Institute (CSI) think tank and its 40MPG.org project. More than four out of five Americans (83 percent) already think that there is price gouging going on at the gas pump today.
In response to the increasing pain at the pump, about half of Americans say they will "definitely" or "probably" cut back on personal spending (51 percent) and summer or end-of-year holiday travel (46 percent) if gasoline reaches $3.50 a gallon this summer. Nearly three in 10 (29 percent) Americans say they are more likely to buy a hybrid or other highly fuel-efficient car if gasoline hits $3.50 a gallon.
Other key findings of the CSI/40MPG.org survey:
- More than three out of four Americans (77 percent) believe the federal government is not doing enough about the high cost of energy and this country's dependence on Middle Eastern oil. Nearly two thirds of Republicans (64 percent) think the government isn't doing enough compared to 79 percent of Independents and 88 percent of Democrats.
- More than two thirds of Americans (67 percent) say that recent gas price increases make it more important that the Federal government take steps to increase the fuel-efficiency standards in this country. There is strong support across party lines for such action, including 61 percent of Republicans, 65 percent of Independents and 75 percent of Democrats.
- There is considerable public support for a windfall profits tax on oil companies if the revenue is used to research alternative energy (77 percent).
Opinion Research Corporation Senior Research Associate Graham Hueber said: "What we see in these findings is a real consensus view among American consumers that gas prices are already too high and that they are going to reach even more painfully high levels this summer. The findings about expected cuts in summer and end-of-year travel plans, as well as the expectation of reductions in general consumer spending, must be viewed with real concern. Clearly, the idea that Americans are just going to accept higher gasoline prices with no real reaction does not appear to be well founded."
SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS
Other key findings of the CSI/40MPG.org survey include the following:
- Higher fuel prices would hit those with lower incomes the hardest. About three-fifths (61 percent) of those in households with less than $25,000 in income say they will definitely or probably have to cut back on personal spending if gasoline hits $3.50 a gallon, compared to about half (51 percent) of all households).
- Women (88 percent) are more likely then men (77 percent) to perceive such price gouging at the gas pump. The overall level of 83 percent of Americans seeing gas price gouging is roughly the same as in September 2005 (86 percent) when CSI/40MPG.org asked the same question during a time of escalating gasoline prices and calls for a windfall profits tax on oil company profits.
- More than two-thirds of Americans (67 percent) say that recent gas price increases make it more important that the Federal government take steps to increase the fuel-efficiency standards in this country. Only 22 percent say that price hikes have had no impact on the need for such action and fewer than one in 10 (9 percent) say it is now less important that the government take action. There is strong support across party lines for such action, including 61 percent of Republicans, 65 percent of Independents and 75 percent of Democrats.
- Over half of Americans (54 percent) would support raising the taxes on gasoline sales if that revenue would be used for research into alternative fuels. This idea is more popular with women (58 percent) than it is with men (50 percent). The idea of earmarking a portion of existing federal income taxes for research into alternative fuels is a wildly popular idea among those age 18-24 (74 percent).
- More than three out of four Americans (78 percent) say they support using some of the money collected in the Federal Highway Trust Fund from taxes on gasoline sales, to investigate alternative energy sources.
- Two-thirds of Americans are either more likely (35 percent) or just as likely (31 percent) to buy a hybrid, clean-diesel or other highly fuel efficient car as they were six months ago. Less than a third (31 percent) say they are less likely to make such a purchase.
SURVEY METHODOLOGY
The new CSI/40MPG.org survey was conducted by Opinion Research Corporation among a sample of 1,013 adults (504 men and 509 women) aged 18 and over living in private households in the Continental United States. Interviewing for this survey was completed during the period of April 19-22, 2007.
The other survey mentioned here also was conducted by ORC and involved 1,019 adults (507 men and 512 women) aged 18 and over living in private households in the Continental United States. Interviewing for the earlier survey was completed during the period of September 15-18, 2005. Both surveys were weighted by four variables: age, sex, geographic region and race to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the total population. The margin of error for both surveys at the 95 percent confidence level is plus or minus 3 percentage points. Smaller sub-groups in either survey will have larger error margins.
ABOUT CSI AND 40MPG.ORG
The nonprofit and nonpartisan Civil Society Institute (http://www.civilsocietyinstitute.org/) is a think tank that serves as a catalyst for change by creating problem-solving interactions among people, and between communities, government and business that can help to improve society. CSI has conducted more than 15 major surveys since 2003 on energy and auto issues, including vehicle fuel-efficiency standards, consumer demand for hybrids/other highly-fuel efficient vehicles, global warming and renewable energy. CSI is the parent organization of 40MPG.org (http://www.40mpg.org/) and the Hybrid Owners of America (http://www.hybridownersofamerica.org/).
[Source: Civil Society Institute and 40MPG.org, Newton, MA]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
M. 9:08AM (5/03/2007)
In Europe we pay between 7$ and 8$ per US gallon. Last time i looked it was exactly 10 NOK per litre diesel. Gas is even more expensive.
So 40mpg are quite common, 48mpg not abnormal and 55mpg or even 60mpg possible if you drive a small car like the Citroen C2 or the Volkswagen Polo Bluemotion with a highly efficient turbo diesel.
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Tim 11:41AM (5/03/2007)
M- Please compare the US to UK in size. We drive much more here in the US and have far greater daily commutes. Our urban sprawl may not be optimal, but it is a reality we now have to deal with. We need series PHEV-40s NOW!
On the bright side, maybe $4.00/gal gas will help spur demand for less petroleum. This will encourage competition and innovation which will increase supply, enhance quality and lower costs. We may yet get good, affordable PHEV-40s quickly. Capitalism is a good thing as long as we can keep the Democratic-Socialists and Neocons from mucking up the works with endless regulations, taxes and “good intentions.” It’s a total screw-up when bureaucrats choose technologies instead allowing the free market competition to do so.
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Judy Bruner 1:29PM (5/03/2007)
PLEASE SOMEBODY HELP
We all need to be coming up with ways to save fuel. We have a AUTOMATIC TIRE INFLATION/MONITORING SYSTEM that will save 1.2B gallons of fuel a year, not to mention saving 600 lives per year avoid 33,000 injuries per year, and saving 57.5B lbs of green house gases per year. This is a system that would only cost $200.00 per unit, and is currently on a Ford Explorer and a Jeep Liberty. It is amazing that we have a product that will do all these things, and nobody wants to listen.
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Phil L. 2:49PM (5/03/2007)
A tire monitoring *and* inflation system on current Explorer/Liberty models?
I can find no reference to such a system. Do you have links?
I'd certainly be interested in such a combination monitoring/inflation system at $200/vehicle. The monitor-pressure-only systems I've seen for retrofit applications are just now getting to the $200 range.
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M. 3:06PM (5/03/2007)
#2: No, I do not confuse imperial gallons and US gallons. I already managed to get an average of 3.9l/100kms (aka 60mpg, miles per US gallon!) on my old PUG 205 naturally aspirated diesel when commuting between Heilbronn and Karlsruhe (Landstraße at an average of 40mph). This is still not bad for a car built in 1986...
I do not understand why you should get less mpg on longer distances...
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Tim 4:47PM (5/03/2007)
M.- It's because we're all very FAT and need HUGE cars for our GIANT butts, even bigger EGOS and we're just compensating for our tiny little.... uhhh... brains. (This is a public blog and I couldn't say what I was really thinking)
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frank78 5:50PM (5/03/2007)
I just love the whole 'price-gouging' rhetoric, even though the profit made on a gallon of gasoline is about 5-10 cents for the oil companies. Never mind dwindling new discoveries and lowering supply of easy to obtain oil, accompanied by record demand, mostly from China and India. Economics 101.
BTW, the combined profit for the feds and my state govt is 50 cents per gallon. Not a bad racket.
$3.50 is a slightly high projection. $3.20-25 is more like it. Unless tensions break out in the Middle East or some refineries get bashed by some hurricanes.
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ThwartedEfforts 4:49AM (5/04/2007)
Tim, the average yearly mileage in the UK and the USA is, near as makes no odds, identical -- around 12,000 miles per annum. Most people around the world make the same journeys every day: they drive to the shops, drive to friends, and they drive to work, each trip being within the same radius -- a fact borne out by the average mileage they do. The short of it is that while it is POSSIBLE to go a far greater distance in the US, most people simply don't.
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Phil L. 8:58AM (5/04/2007)
Thwarted...
Huh?
My method isn't scientific, but I regularly peruse used car ads wherever interesting things are for sale. And I've always noticed that - on average - used cars in the UK tend to have far lower mileage than car in the US.
I live in the US Mid-Atlantic region. While I am fortunate to have a tidy 4.5 mile commute, many of my co-workers have 45-60 mile commutes (due to housing costs and other factors). Yes, there are long-distance commuters in the UK - but a quick look through used cars on craigslist in both regions would seem to indicate there aren't all that many.
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pamela lorraine 10:29AM (5/04/2007)
yeah its about us$7 equvilant in australia too per us gal
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km 11:31AM (5/04/2007)
First, to the commenter who said the oil companies weren't gouging: wake up and stop apologizing for the companies for whom 2006 was the most profitable year in global corporate history.
Second, I've been paying $3.50 for weeks, this week it's $3.55 in the Bay Area. You know, because everyone who lives here is a millionare. Or so it's said.
At least my Golf isn't too thirsty. But with three kids and an aging mother-in-law, I also need a large vehicle to move my family. And my Pacifica is very thirsty. So am I pissed? You bet.
And to everyone who thinks that higher mileage standards are the answer, you're wrong. The answer is to regulate the oil companies, because the problem is that they're gouging. And no amount of auto manufacturer regulation will make the oil companies stop gouging. They'll keep spiking and feathering prices until they're made to stop. As seen by their balance sheet, they have no financial incentive not to.
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calguy 5:28PM (5/05/2007)
Gas is already slightly under $4.00/gal or ABOVE around San Francisco.
It's slightly vacant reporting to ignore how high Supreme/high octane gasoline is, given a noteworthy number of cars (rare and average) specify over-91 for their engines.
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